A single still image can convey a significant amount of detail regarding a scene. For instance, some consumer digital cameras can currently generate an image with a resolution of 16 MPixels. However, a single still image does not adequately communicate motion within a scene. Video, of course, does capture the dynamic nature of a scene. But video is often of much lower resolution than still images produced by a still-capture camera. For example, a typical commercial video camera may capture a scene with a resolution of 720×480 pixels at 30 frames per second (fps).
Alternative solutions have been proposed for capturing a scene. In one such exemplary solution, frames from conventional video can be selected and synthesized to produce a so-called video texture. For example, this solution can play a collection of video frames as a loop by selecting an appropriate juncture in an image sequence to gracefully transition from the end of the sequence to the beginning of the sequence. In another exemplary solution, a user can manually supplement a single still image by manually segmenting objects in the image and inputting motion parameters. A mechanism can then use these motions parameters to introduce motion into the still image.
The above-described solutions have various shortcomings. For instance, the first solution creates an animated scene based on conventional video. As such, the animated scene may have relatively low resolution. The second solution may require the user to spend a considerable amount of time to segment objects and input the motion parameters. A user may find this high level of interaction burdensome and susceptible to possible error.
For at least the above-identified exemplary and non-limiting reasons, there is a need in the art for more satisfactory strategies for producing animates scenes.